Charles had proven himself qualified to speak to Laiah as an equal. At last, the two could sit down for a calm discussion.
Laiah scratched his head. "Let me ask you first—kid, you seem to know an awful lot. I'm real curious—where exactly are you getting all this information from?"
Laiah was, as always, remarkably sharp. Although Charles had made it seem as if everything he said was just conjecture, Laiah still held doubts.
Charles waved a hand. "I've got plenty of circumstances I can't really explain, but let's just say—I'm not working against you, that much I can promise."
Once again confirming Charles wasn't lying, Laiah shrugged. "Fair enough. It's all a headache anyway, maybe I'm better off not knowing."
"Alright then, back to the previous topic—just what exactly do you know?"
Charles replied, "You've noticed something off inside you, haven't you? That ominous power inside you doesn't come from the reincarnation magic—it comes from something even more dangerous."
"Or rather… are you sure the reincarnation magic cast on you is really what you believe it is?"
Laiah's gaze turned sharp. "Impossible. That magic was something Licht created to revive our people…"
Charles cut in, "What kind of person do you remember Licht being—the king of the elves?"
Before Laiah could respond, Charles continued, "He was kind, wasn't he? Gentle? Would a man like that cast a spell that taints his comrades' souls?"
Laiah had no answer. Ever since reincarnating, he had been tormented constantly by pain and hatred.
That man—the one who praised others' kindness even though he was the gentlest among them—he would never allow his friends to suffer like this.
And the more he thought about it, the more everything felt wrong. Licht was a rare genius among elves, yes, but to Laiah's knowledge, he had never studied reincarnation magic.
What's more, the current era's fake "Licht"—Patry—was suspicious in his own way. How did he know that gathering the magic stones would complete the spell?
He'd never questioned it before—Patry was a fellow elf, after all—but now, the doubts piled higher and higher.
Since Laiah could distinguish truth from lies, Charles decided to be blunt.
"It's a devil. That ominous power in you, that reincarnation magic—both were the work of a devil."
"A devil?" Laiah said. "That's just a myth. If you're going to say something like that out of nowhere, how am I supposed to believe you?"
Charles explained, "Devils are creatures of the underworld. They possess immense and forbidden magic. Manipulating humans is their favorite game."
"But the underworld isn't enough for them. Their true desire is to enter the world of the living."
"However, bringing their true body here isn't easy. One method is to use two mages connected to the underworld as sacrifices to open the gates of the underworld with a spell called the Tree of Qliphoth."
"The other way is to force a four-leaf clover grimoire user into absolute despair. That's when a five-leaf clover grimoire is born—and in it, the devil can dwell."
Laiah's pupils contracted. He recalled Licht kneeling amidst blood and fire, holding his wife. He also thought of the grimoire Asta held.
Charles confirmed his suspicion. "That's right. Five hundred years ago, the devil set its sights on Licht, chosen by the four-leaf clover. It incited greedy human nobles to slaughter the elves, all to drive him into despair."
"No…!" Hatred flared in Laiah's eyes. "All because of that?!"
Charles sighed. "I'm not trying to excuse those nobles. If not for their greed, the devil wouldn't have succeeded. But the true mastermind behind it all—was the devil."
"Licht realized the truth at the last second and stopped the devil. That's why the devil used the reincarnation spell—to turn all of you into pawns."
Laiah muttered, "If the devil's goal is to make a four-leaf grimoire mage fall into despair and birth a five-leaf… then his target is—"
Charles nodded. "Exactly. The leader of the Eye of the Midnight Sun—the boy pretending to be Licht."
"Think about it. He's given everything for his comrades, only to learn he was just being used all along. When that belief shatters—who could bear that?"
Laiah's face darkened. He couldn't determine whether all this information was true—but he could tell Charles wasn't lying.
And Charles's version of events did explain everything far better than anything else.
Laiah groaned and ruffled his hair. "You wouldn't be telling me all this unless you had your own plan. Go ahead—what are you thinking?"
He was deeply conflicted. If they kept moving forward with their current plan, they might fall straight into the devil's trap.
But if they stopped, then he would never get to see Licht and the others again.
It was an agonizing choice. He didn't want the devil to win—because that might break Patry, who'd worked so hard while impersonating Licht.
But he couldn't give up the chance to reunite with his people, either.
Charles understood his dilemma. So he tossed the magic stone in his hand to Laiah.
Laiah caught it, puzzled. "What's the meaning of this?"
Charles said, "This is a negotiation. If we're going to do this, we need a plan that benefits both sides."
"A win-win?" Laiah couldn't imagine how that would work.
Charles explained, "We don't know how many traps the devil embedded in your reincarnation magic. Trying to dismantle the spell entirely could cause unexpected disasters."
"And I know you want to see your comrades again. That's why—I'll help you complete the reincarnation magic."
Laiah shook his head. "So what? Even if they're reborn, they'll just be puppets controlled by that devil. Better to let them sleep."
Charles countered, "We need to solve this. As long as that devil exists, the five-hundred-year tragedy won't end."
"The good news is—this era has someone who can defeat it for good."
Realization dawned on Laiah. "That human boy… with the anti-magic!"
Charles nodded. "That's right. Asta's anti-magic can end the devil."
Laiah asked, "You really believe that kid can defeat a legendary devil? He doesn't even have a shred of magic power."
Charles answered with absolute confidence. "Of course. Don't underestimate Asta's strength. And besides, isn't that why we're making these plans? If we don't have that much faith, we might as well give up now."
"Heh, fair enough," Laiah chuckled.
Charles continued, "But if we're going to work together, we can't let innocent people get dragged into this."
"You know better than anyone—the side effects of reincarnation magic. We can't let your comrades harm civilians. And you don't want them suffering under the devil's influence either, do you?"
Laiah smiled bitterly. "So we need to break the reincarnation magic in the end, huh? We've got Licht's Demon-Dweller Sword, which can dispel magic. With that and the anti-magic kid, we might just manage."
Charles stroked his chin. "It doesn't need to be that complicated. I've heard you guys have a magical scholar on your side. Supposedly, she can artificially cultivate bodies with matching mana signatures."
"If you could prepare empty bodies without souls, maybe you could transfer the reincarnated souls into them as you dispel the magic—creating perfect reincarnations."
Hope lit up in Laiah's eyes. "You think Little Sally could really pull that off?"
Charles reminded him, "This is just a theory. The details need careful research. That part's all up to you."
Laiah groaned. "That's gonna be tough. Our operation is already about to begin. Time's running short."
From his words, Charles realized what that meant.
Only two magic stones remained—one held by the Wizard King, the other by the Witch Queen in the Witches' Forest.
Fana had already been dispatched to retrieve the one from the forest. That left the Wizard King—and he wouldn't be easy to deal with.
So the Eye of the Midnight Sun had concocted a plan: leak the location of their hideout to the Magic Knights, lure out their elites with a feint—leaving the Wizard King vulnerable to an ambush.
Charles began thinking about how to buy some time. Then, his eyes lit up with an idea.
"I've got one more piece of intel," he said. "The child of the elven king wasn't just one baby. They were twins. One of those children didn't die in the massacre—they were sealed away."
"And their descendants are still alive, somewhere in the world. If you knew that… could you buy us a little more time?"
…
After that, the negotiations continued, though Charles could tell Laiah was clearly distracted. Still, they managed to settle on a concrete plan before parting ways.
Watching Laiah vanish with a space spell, Charles looked up at the sky above Yultim Volcano.
He couldn't help but wonder—how much of the future could he actually change?
_________________________________________
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